The great thing about opinions is that it doesn’t have to matter in order to have one. We all have opinions about all sorts of different things, even if they have no bearing on anything involving the subject about which we have opinions.
Opinion is the realm of the fan in particular. We all—and I include myself in this as much as anybody else who reads my stuff—have our thoughts on what the Pittsburgh Steelers should do about this or that, knowing full well that what we think, and equally, what we say, makes little if any difference.
The lightning rod for opinions lately is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and what his future should look like. At least based on the pulse of our readers, the general consensus is that he should retire, and that he should know that it’s time to retire. Failing that, many believe that the Steelers need to rip the bandage off and release him.
That’s not going to happen, of course. It’s pretty much all but been confirmed that Roethlisberger wants to continue playing, and the team wants him to play this year, but under a revised contract. Roethlisberger has already stated that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the team’s cap situation, so it’s more or less a done deal that they will resolve the situation and clear the path for him to play in 2021.
That doesn’t stop and hasn’t stopped people from having opinions about it, including those in the media, and even his former teammates. One media personality who was recently asked for his opinion about what the Steelers should do with Roethlisberger is Jay Glazer.
“The smart thing to do would be to extend him out so you can lower his cap hit”, he said. “He wants to come back and play again. Certain guys like Ben Roethlisberger, they’re gonna play either until they lose the love of the game, or until their arm falls off. One of the two. And knowing Ben, his arm will probably fall off”.
Jay Glazer says Ben might want to play until his arm falls off and expects Steelers to extend him this offseason. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/NQDHO9nYSr
— Steelers Depot 🎄 (@Steelersdepot) February 1, 2021
We have already exhaustively discussed the possibility of the Steelers extending Roethlisberger to lower his cap hit, of which only $19 million minus the base minimum salary is moveable. They could add up to four additional voidable years to his current contract to spread the cap hit.
During the 2020 regular season, he completed 399 of 608 pass attempts in 15 games for 3803 yards with 33 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. In one postseason game, he completed 47 of 68 pass attempts for 501 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions in a losing effort.
